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WHICH CHALK TO CHOOSE FOR CLIMBING OR MOUNTAINEERING?

If climbers always have their hands covered in chalk, it's not for style, but to optimize their ascent! Indispensable to this discipline, chalk is not as easy to choose as it seems. We guide you so you know which chalk to choose for climbing or mountaineering.

What is chalk used for?

When climbing or mountaineering, chalk is a unavoidable. It often happens that due to the exertion or the heat, the hands become wet. As a result, you lose grip and progress is extremely difficult. This is when chalk (it is in fact magnesium carbonate to which silica is sometimes added) comes in handy. It will absorb moisture and thus give you the necessary grip to allow you to ensure stable catches.

Powdered chalk for climbing or mountaineering, an essential

It is favoured by the majority of climbing and mountaineering enthusiasts. It is bought in a large bag and can then be transported very easily in a small bag provided for this purpose. Rectangular or cylindrical, the chalk bags can be attached to the waist and have a drawstring for easy opening and closing. It is advisable to opt for a chalk bag that allows you to fully immerse your hand in it so that you can put it back on without difficulty even if you are in full ascent.

GOOD TO KNOW: EVEN WHEN IT CLUMPS,IT WORKS!

Chalk can sometimes clump together and create small blocks. This does not alter its properties in any way, just crush the pieces between your fingers and you're good to go.

Why choose liquid chalk?

It's actually classic chalk to which alcohol has been added. Place a nice dab of it in one hand and spread it over the whole palm as you would with soap. Within seconds, the alcohol evaporates leaving only the powder. It is worth choosing liquid chalk for climbing, especially if you are indoor. Indeed, it is much less volatile, which makes it possible not to climb into a cloud of powder.

On the other hand, for outdoor mountaineering sessions where you will climb the rock for long hours, prefer powdered chalk to be able to drive the moisture from your hands by dipping them one after the other in your bag. Besides requiring the use of two hands to open it, choosing liquid chalk also means exposing yourself to more small injuries. Indeed, its alcohol concentration dries the skin and weakens it, so it is not uncommon, after intense efforts, to see small cracks appear in the joints of the fingers.

Powdered chalk, a controversial substance

Although it may be popular with a majority of climbers, powdered chalk is increasingly singled out, especially when it comes to use in closed environments. Indeed, one only needs to go to a climbing room to see how quickly powdered chalk can invade the air. If magnesium carbonate does not represent any danger to health, it nevertheless clutters the bronchi with its extremely fine particles. In addition, some climbing or mountaineering chalks also contain a tiny proportion of silica in their composition, a substance which, beyond 1% of the composition of your powder, may have adverse health effects.

If choosing powdered chalk, is to ensure a good grip even when one is perched several meters from the ground, it is also to leave many residues on the grips. Many block rooms have therefore decided to ban it altogether. This is why, before choosing your climbing chalk, it is imperative to check with the establishment you are going to attend.

And the "resin" in all this?

If powdered chalk is increasingly criticized indoors, it is also in a natural environment where it leaves visible traces of the passage of climbers and thus distorts the beauty of climbing and mountaineering places. Not to mention that it is difficult to know in the long term the damage it can cause to the rock. This is why climbers who enjoy the open air and block climbing fans turn to resin. They are actually crystals of pine resin encased in a cloth. Then you just have to hit the resin on the places of the rock where you want to increase the grip. This practice is very developed in places of climbing such as the forest of Fontainebleau in France.

No long climbs without chalk! To know which chalk to choose for climbing or mountaineering, it is essential to take into account the environment in which you will be operating and what will be more practical to apply once you climb.

THE THREE KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN CHOOSING YOUR CHALK FOR CLIMBING OR MOUNTAINEERING:

  1. For long sessions that take you high, it is better to opt for powdered chalk
  2. Liquid chalk will be more pleasant to use in the room, but it dries up the hands
  3. For outdoor trips on rocks, resin can be a good alternative to chalk.
Chalks